1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a door hinge, and more particularly, to a door hinge incorporating a compression spring for use in a motorized vehicle.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
It is known in the art to incorporate door hinges in a motorized passenger vehicle or the like for facilitating opening and closing of the vehicle's doors. Typically, each door will incorporate two door hinges positioned at an upper and lower location of the door. The door hinge will generally have a first part which is rigidly connected to the frame of the vehicle, and a second part which is rigidly connected to the door. The second part is movable relative to the first part so as to enable the door to swing from a closed position to an open position, and vice-versa.
Typically, automotive door assemblies include a detent mechanism which permits the door to remain in an open position and/or a partially open position against a spring force without applying outside, additional forces. In some designs, these detent mechanisms have been incorporated as part of one of the door hinge. Conventional door hinges of this type often make use of torsional forces exerted on a spring mechanism to produce resistance against movement of the second part of the hinge, and thus prevent undesirable swinging of the door and/or enable the door to gently swing back to a closed position.
Conventional door hinges which use torsional springs often suffer from a number of disadvantages. First, the torsional forces placed on the spring mechanism may cause relatively early failure of the spring after a relatively low number of door swing repetitions due to the torsional loading of the spring. Secondly, the torsional spring design is often application specific in that different diametered spring mechanisms are required for hinges accommodating doors of different sizes and masses. This requires the use of relatively large inventory of spring mechanisms to accommodate different door designs. Thirdly, the torsional spring design is relatively large thus producing a number of problems concerning space limitations and excessive weight.
What is needed then is a compact, lightweight, compressional type door hinge which is adaptable to different resistive forces without changing the spring mechanism. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide such a door hinge.